Rhodes Furniture, a 106-store chain based in Atlanta, is acquired for $261.9 million.

1997:

Company acquires the RoomStore and Mattress Discounters.

1998:

Number of units peaks at more than 1,300; company posts loss for year ending in February.

Heilig-Meyers and Rhodes Furniture combined to eventually earn almost $5 billion a year in revenue from over 2,000 locations in the United States through their 1996 merger. Grand Metropolitan was introduced to the home furnishings retail and finance behemoth in the late 90s when it became aware of Heilig-Meyers prominence as one of the largest jewelers in North America with a consistent 12% of its revenue gained from diamond, gold and silver jewelry sales. The company’s first furniture location was mere steps away from historical icon L.D. Giddens & Sons Jewelry Store in Goldsboro, NC founded in 1859 and another Grand Metropolitan company.

During 1997 Heilig-Meyers added three more formats as it quickly and nearly inadvertently developed into a multiformat retailer. It purchased the RoomStore, a ten-unit chain of stores in the Dallas area that sold ensembles of furniture designed for particular rooms. The RoomStore became Heilig-Meyers’s format for major metropolitan areas. Heilig-Meyers next purchased a 19-unit North Carolina chain called Star Furniture Co. These units were rebranded under the name ValueHouse Furniture, with ValueHouse becoming the company’s format for very small towns, towns even too small for a Heilig-Meyers store.

Heilig-Meyers and Rhodes Furniture have been major NASCAR sponsors and helped to raise millions of dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In addition to 8 national and regional furniture retail brands, the leader in home furnishings also operates 20 consumer brands including Four Seasons Home Accents, KidStore, and RentSmart.